Mine-shaft door.



No. 813,067. PATENTED FEB. 20, 1906. I. WHITNEY, DECD.

n. D. LANE, ADMINISTRATOR. MINE SHAFT DOORu APPLIOATLON FILED JUNE30.1904.

I. WHITNEY, DECD.

H. D. LANE, ADMINISTRATOR.

MINE SHAFT DOOR.

APPLIoATIoN FILED JUNE so. 190.4.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Witnessqs Inventor fr l 4 Httornegs PATENTED FEB. 20, 1906.

mvrrnn sfrafrns riirnur ortica.

ISAAC WHITNEY, OF OSKALOOSA, IOWA; HENRY D. LANE ADMINIS- TRATOR OF SAIDISAAC WHITNEY, DECEASED.

MINE-SHAFT DOOR.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ISAAC WHITNEY, a citi- Zen of the United States,residing at Oskaloosa, in the county of Mahaska and State of Iowa, hayeinvented a new and useful Mine- Shaft Door, of which the following is aspecification. i

This inventionrelates to mine-shaft doors, and has for its principalobject to provide a practically air-tight door that may be automaticallyopened by animals, cars, or other objects traveling in either directionand maintained in open position until after the the passage of theanimal and the car or cars, after which the doors are automaticallyclosed.

A further object of the invention is to pro vide a novel construction ofdouble doors in which both doors are pivotally mounted and swing towardand from each other, the two doors being connected for mutual movement.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of thischaracter in which a plurality of operating devices are connected to thedoors andarranged to be successfully engaged by a car or cars, so as tomaintain the doors in open position until the cars have passed them.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means forlessening the shock of closing of the doors and for making such doorspractically air-tight.

With these and other objects in view, as will more fully hereinafterappear, the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangementof parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it beingunderstood that various changes in the form, proportions, size, andminor details of the structure may made without departing from thespirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a mine-shaftdoor arranged and constructed in accordance with the invention. Fig. 2is a side elevation of the same, portions being broken away in order tomore clearly illustrate the construction. Fig. 3 is a detail elevationof the lower portion of the doors, showing the manner in which theySpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 30, 1904. Serial No. 214,827.

Patented Feb. 20, 1906.

are pivotally supported below the traffic-rails. Fig. 4 is a detailperspective view of one 0f a series of levers to be engaged by the carsfor the automatic opening of the door. Fig. 5 is a detail perspectiveview of the lower doorsupporting bracket detached. Fig. 6 is a similarview of one of the adjustable supports. Fig. 7 is a detail perspectiveview of a portion of one of the doors and door-jambs, showing thepacking or cushioning strips for excluding air. Fig. 8 is a view similarto Fig. 1, illustrating a slight modification of the invention.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate correspondingparts throughout the several iigures of the drawings.

At a suitable point in the entry is arranged a frame including a pair ofuprights l and an upper transversely-disposed cross-bar 2, the latterforming a support for the upper doorpivots, and at a point slightly inadvance of these is a second frame including upright door-posts 3 and across-bar 4, the two crossbars being connected and rigidly braced bymetallic bars 5.

To the door-post 3 are secured battens 6, having strips of felt orsimilar material 7 and. being further provided with a plurality ofleaf-springs S, which are engaged by the doors when moved to closedposition, thus materially reducing the shock of closing. When closed,the leaf-springs are fully compressed, and the strips of felt or similaryieldable material will form a practically air-tight closure.

The doors 9 and 10 are each provided at their upper and lower ends withsubstantially segmental plates 11, to which are secured vertical strips12, the row of strips of each bar being arranged on a line struck fromthe center of movement of said bar. To the upper segments are securedradially-disposed brace-bars 13, that are pivotally connected to thecross-bar 2 by means of bolts 14, the connection being such as to permitfree swinging movement of the door. To the lower segments are secureddiagonal bars 15, that converge at a point outside of the rails 16, andfrom the point of convergence eX- tends an arm 17, leading out under thetrack and pivoted by a bolt 18 to a platform 19, that is secured to thecross-ties. The pivot- IOO 1. The doors being curved and movingedgewise, there is little or no resistance, and the door may be morefreely opened and closed than iiat doors of the usual type.

At one side of the main frame is mounted a pulley or sheave 20, aroundwhich extends a rope or cable 21, having its opposite ends connected tothe respective doors, so that movement imparted to the door 9 willresult in corresponding movement in the opposite direction of the door10. To the door 10 is securedacord or chain 22, passing over a sheave 23and provided with a counterweight 24, that tends to close the door andmaintain the same in closed position, the adjacent edges of the twodoors coming into contact with each other and the contacting edges beingprovided with strips of felt or similar material, so as to form anair-tight closure. To the rear or outer edge of each door is secured abatten 25, having a covering 26 of felt or similar material, Whichengages the strip of felt 7 on the door-post and further serves to makethe door air-tight. Depending from each of the doors is a strip 27,formed of canvas or other suitable material, that comes into contactwith the rails, the strip yielding as the doors are opened and closed incase lumps of coal or other objects have been accidentally dropped inthe path of movement of the doors. The doors may further be renderedair-tight by constructing them of a brous FOv or other material and bylining them with canvas, felt, or the like.

At one side of the entry is a horizontallydisposed timber 28, secured inthe coal or other material at the side of the entry and carrying anadjustable bearing 29, in which rests a pivot-pin 30, carried by averticallydisposed shaft 31. The opposite end of the shaft carries apivot pin 32, extending through an opening formed in a metallicbracing-frame 33, that is supported by the timber 28, and the upper endof this frame may be braced in any suitable manner, as by connecting ittothe cross-bar 2 by means of a diagonally-disposed timber 34.

To the shaft 31 is secured a bell-crank lever 34', that is bent to passaround the rear portion of the shaft and is clamped in place by means ofbolts passing through a bar 36 and the main arm'of the bell-crank leverand so arranged that the bell-crank lever may be vertically adjusted tosuit the height of the animals. To effect the adjustment, it is merelynecessary to loosen the securing-bolts and, after raising or loweringthe bell-crank leverto again turn the bolts and clamp the lever in itsadjusted position. The longer arm of the bell-crank lever extends outfrom the railway-track in a position to vbe engagec'l by an animal, andthe shorter arm of said bell-crank lever is connected by a cord or chain38 to an adjustable eyebolt 39, extending through an opening in apivotally-mounted gate-operating bar 40, the lower end of which ispivoted to a beam 41, projecting fromthe side of the entry. The rope orchain 38 is held taut by means of a weight 42, and its tension maybereadily adjusted by turning the securing-nut of the eyebolt.

The framework at the side of the entry is provided with bearings for thesupport of a vertically-disposed shaft 43, having a keyway 44, andmounted on the shaft is a sheave or sprocket-wheel 45,Which may beraised or lowered on the shaft in accordance with the -verticaladjustment of the bell-crank lever Extending around the sheave orsprocketwheel 45 is a cable or link belt 47, one end of which is securedto an eyebolt 48, extending through an opening in the pivotally-mounteddoor-operating lever 40, and the opposite end of said cable or link beltis rigidly secured to the shorter arm of a bell-crank lever 35, mountedin the entry at the opposite side of the door and provided with a weight42 for the purpose of taking up slack. The lever 354 is of aconstruction similar to the construction of the bell-crank lever 34 andextends out over the railway in a position to be engaged by an animal.

The upper end of the door-operating lever 40 carries an eyebolt 50, thatis connected to one end of the cable 21, the latter being extendedbeyond its point of connection With the door 9, and when a pullingstrain is exerted on either of the cables 38 or 47 the lever 40 will berocked, and the strain may be exerted from either side of the door byanimals approaching in either direction. In order to render theoperation of the lever 35 more effective inboth directions, sheaves 52are arranged at the upper end of a bracket 53, carried by the fixedframe and in a position to be engaged by the cable 47 on the bell-cranklever 35/ turning inward in the direction of the door. v

The two horizontal timbers 28 and 41 serve as supports for ahorizontally-disposed plank 55, on which rests a bar 56, provided with aplurality of notches 57, the side walls of the notches tapering outwardtoward the edge of the bar from the longitudinal center of said bar.Through each of the notches extends a car-operated lever 58, that ispivoted to the plank 55, and said levers are held in place by straps 60,extending across the slots. Each of the bars 56 (there being one at eachside of the door) is provided with a pair of longitudinally-arrangedslots 61, through which pass guide-bolts 62 for the purpose ofmaintaining the bar in proper position. To this bar are IOO IIO

secured the opposite ends of a short chain or cable or link belt 63,that extends around a sheave or sprocket-wheel 64, rigidly secured tothe lower end of the shaft 31, and at a point intermediate of its lengththis cable or belt is loosely secured to the sheave.

In the operation of the device an animal traveling in the direction ofthe door will come into contact with the longer arm of the bell-cranklever 35, and moving in the direction of the closed doors saidbell-crank lever will be turned and exert a pulling strain on the cable38. This will be transmitted to the lever 40 and from thence to the cable Z1 and the doors, resulting in movement of the doors to the openposition. After the animal has passed through the doors the latter arereturned to closed position by means of the counterweight.

In case a car or cars follow the animal they come into contact with theseries of levers 58 at one side of the door and at the opposite side ofsaid door will engage a similar set of levers. The contact of the carwith the levers will move the bar 56 longitudinally, and this movementwill be transmitted to the cable and the sheave 64 and result in theturning of the shaft 31 and the bell-crank lever 35 until the doors areopened in the manner reviously described. The car or cars will reep inengagement with the levers, coming into contact successively with eachof them until all of the cars have passed the doors, after which thelatter are free to close.

The construction may be simplified to some extent by providing the twoshafts 31 with sprocket-wheels or sheaves 64, that are connectedtogether by a link belt or cable 65, as indicated in Fig. 8, the cablebeing rigidly secured to both sheaves by belts 66, so that turningmovement of one will be imparted to the other. From one of the sheaves64 extends a cable or chain 67, passing over and secured to sheaves 68and 69, that are carried by the pivot-pintles of the two doors. Thebell-crank levers and the remaining portions of the mechanism may bearranged substantially in the manner hereinbefore described, and whensaid levers are engaged by an animal or when the animals are followed bya car or cars the sheaves 31 will be turned and movement will betransmitted by the sheave 64 and the cable 67 to both of the doors.

With a device constructed in accordance with this invention the doorsmay be automatically opened by animals or cars and retained in full-openposition until after the passage of the animal or cars through thedoorway, after which the doors will be automatically closed.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. Thecombination with a door, of a plurality of door-operating devicesextending across a pathway or road leading to the door, and in aposition to be successively engaged by an animal or object travelingover the track, each of said door-operating devices serving whenoperated to effect the complete opening movement of the door, and allacting as they are successively engaged to retain the door in full-openposition.

2. The combination with a door, of a dooroperating lever extendingacross a pathway or road leading to the door and being in a position tobe engaged by an animal, and a plurality of levers also connected to thedoor and projecting partly across the roadway in position to besuccessively engaged by a car or other object following the animal.

3. In mine-doors, a pair of pivotally-mounted door members having upperand lower pivotal supports, the lower pivot being in the form of abracket having portions extending both above and below the track, thelower portion being pivoted to a support below the track, and the upperportion being connected to the bottom of the door.

4. In mine-shaft doors, a pair of pivotallymounted door members havingarcuate faces and arranged to swing into recesses in the entry, adoor-frame having battens, and projecting battens or ribs carried by thedoor members and in engagement therewith and serving to prevent thepassage of air-currents.

5. In mine-doors, a pair of pivotally-mounted door members eachincluding upper and lower segments, radiating braces connecting theupper segments to the pivot-point, and door supporting and bracingmembers arranged at the lower ends of the doors and each IOO providedwith an armv extending downward and inward under the track or road-bed.

6. In mine-doors, a pair of pivotally-mounted door members havingarcuate faces arranged to swing into recesses in the entry, a door-framehaving battens, springs projecting from the said battens and projectingbattens carried by the doors and adapted to engage the springs tothereby lessen the shock of closing movement of the doors.

7. In mine-shaft doors, a pair of pivotallymounted door members havingarcuate faces, a door -frame having battens lined with a flexiblematerial, and battens or bars carried by the doors and also faced withflexible material.

8. The combination with a pivotallymounted entry-door, of a pivoteddoor-oper ating lever, a flexible connection between the free end of thelever and door, a pair of levers extending across the entry, a flexibleconnecting means between one of the levers and the dooroperating lever,a flexible connection between the second lever and the door-oper atinglever, and a guiding means for the second of such flexible connection.

IIO

IIS

9. The combination with a pivotally- In testimony that I claim theforegoing as mounted door, of a pair of shafts, bell-crank my own I havehereto aIiXed my signature in levers vertically adjustable on saidshafts, a the presence of tWo witnesses.

pivoted door-operating lever having flexible l ISAAC WHITNEY. 5connection with the door, and flexible oon- Witnesses:

neotions between such levers and the adjust- WM. I-IIBBS,

able bell-orank lever. O. A. MARTIN.

